Sunday, September 21
Omaha, Neb.
5:00 PM
Creighton University
7-5,0-0Big East
3
vs
0
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Kansas
9-5,0-0Big 12
1
2
3
F
Kansas
24
18
22
0
Creighton
26
25
25
3
Ava Martin
Photo by: Sullivan Lawrence
#18 Volleyball Wins Creighton Classic With 3-0 Win vs. #17 Kansas
9/21/2025 7:31:00 PM | Volleyball
CU's 14th straight season with a tourney title.
OMAHA, Neb. -- No. 18 Creighton Volleyball closed out non-conference play on Sunday with a 3-0 sweep of No. 17 Kansas to win the Creighton Classic title. Scores of the match were 26-24, 25-18, 25-22 as the Bluejays have now won at least one tournament in 14 consecutive seasons.
Creighton improved to 7-5 this season with its second Top 25 win of the fall over a ranked Kansas (9-5) squad, having also defeated the Jayhawks in five sets on Aug. 31 in Madison, Wis.
Ava Martin led all players with 18 kills, earning Tournament MVP honors. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by fellow Kansas native Jaya Johnson, who had a career-high 11 digs and matched her season-high with nine kills. CU had 44 kills, 52 digs, nine blocks and six aces on .218 hitting.
Kansas was led by nine kills from Jovana Zelenovic, while Ryan White dug 15 balls. The Jayhawks had 31 kills, 49 digs, 7.5 blocks and four aces on .107 hitting.
In a match that featured 27 ties and 10 lead changes, the first set was one of the closest. KU led 13-10 and 15-13 before a 5-0 run on Martin's serve gave Creighton a 19-16 lead. The teams would be tied at 21, 22, 23 and 24 before CU closed out the game with a kill by Kiara Reinhardt and a KU attack error. Martin had seven kills in the opener and Annalea Maeder dished 13 of CU's 17 assists.
Creighton led 15-14 in the second set before a 6-1 run capped by an ace from Nora Wurtz put the hosts up 21-15. The Jays took a 2-0 lead into the locker room after a KU service error. Sydney Breissinger, playing her first full match at libero since 2023, had seven of her season-high 17 digs in the game.
The Bluejays led most of the third set, but a late flurry by Kansas put the Jayhawks in front 21-20 after a point withstood a CU challenge. Creighton finished off its sweep with a 5-1 burst, getting to match point on an ace by Martin and closing out KU when Abbey Hayes teamed with Reinhardt to stuff All-Big 12 pick Reese Ptacek on match point. Creighton had 23 digs, including five each by Johnson, Maeder and Breissinger, and Martin had six of CU's 14 kills.
Creighton returns to the floor on Friday when it hosts Xavier (11-1) in its BIG EAST opener at 6:30 p.m.
NOTES:Â Creighton has won 112 straight matches when leading 2-0 ... Nora Wurtz has served an ace in nine straight contests ... Ava Martin has had five or more kills in 89 straight matches and Abbey Hayes has had five or more kills in eight contests in a row ... Kansas is 34-10 in the last three seasons but 0-3 against Creighton in that time. CU is the only team to take a 2-0 lead on the Jayhawks in those two years, and has done it in all three meetings ... Creighton has won 102 of its last 107 sets played inside D.J. Sokol Arena ... Ava Martin and Sydney Breissinger both surpassed 600 career digs in the match ... Creighton played seven Top 25 teams in its 12 non-conference matches this fall, the first time its ever played seven or more ranked teams prior to league play ... Creighton has now beaten a ranked Kansas team five times. The only ranked school it has beaten more is Marquette (9) ... Kendra Wait was recognized prior to the match as she was presented her AVCA First Team All-America ring ... Saige Damrow's streak of 11 straight matches with 10 or more digs was snapped as she played a full match as defensive specialist for the first time this season. Her streak had been the fourth-longest to start a Bluejay career in program history ... This is the ninth different time that Creighton has picked up multiple top 25 wins in the same season ... Creighton is now 27-33 against Top 25 teams when ranked itself.
Creighton Classic All-Tournament Team
Kali Jurgensmeier, Omaha
Faith Venable, Omaha
Maria Clara Andrade, South Florida
Samiha Foster, South Florida
Grace Nelson, Kansas
Reese Ptacek, Kansas
Jaya Johnson, Creighton
Ava Martin, Creighton (MVP)
Creighton improved to 7-5 this season with its second Top 25 win of the fall over a ranked Kansas (9-5) squad, having also defeated the Jayhawks in five sets on Aug. 31 in Madison, Wis.
Ava Martin led all players with 18 kills, earning Tournament MVP honors. She was joined on the All-Tournament Team by fellow Kansas native Jaya Johnson, who had a career-high 11 digs and matched her season-high with nine kills. CU had 44 kills, 52 digs, nine blocks and six aces on .218 hitting.
Kansas was led by nine kills from Jovana Zelenovic, while Ryan White dug 15 balls. The Jayhawks had 31 kills, 49 digs, 7.5 blocks and four aces on .107 hitting.
In a match that featured 27 ties and 10 lead changes, the first set was one of the closest. KU led 13-10 and 15-13 before a 5-0 run on Martin's serve gave Creighton a 19-16 lead. The teams would be tied at 21, 22, 23 and 24 before CU closed out the game with a kill by Kiara Reinhardt and a KU attack error. Martin had seven kills in the opener and Annalea Maeder dished 13 of CU's 17 assists.
Creighton led 15-14 in the second set before a 6-1 run capped by an ace from Nora Wurtz put the hosts up 21-15. The Jays took a 2-0 lead into the locker room after a KU service error. Sydney Breissinger, playing her first full match at libero since 2023, had seven of her season-high 17 digs in the game.
The Bluejays led most of the third set, but a late flurry by Kansas put the Jayhawks in front 21-20 after a point withstood a CU challenge. Creighton finished off its sweep with a 5-1 burst, getting to match point on an ace by Martin and closing out KU when Abbey Hayes teamed with Reinhardt to stuff All-Big 12 pick Reese Ptacek on match point. Creighton had 23 digs, including five each by Johnson, Maeder and Breissinger, and Martin had six of CU's 14 kills.
Creighton returns to the floor on Friday when it hosts Xavier (11-1) in its BIG EAST opener at 6:30 p.m.
NOTES:Â Creighton has won 112 straight matches when leading 2-0 ... Nora Wurtz has served an ace in nine straight contests ... Ava Martin has had five or more kills in 89 straight matches and Abbey Hayes has had five or more kills in eight contests in a row ... Kansas is 34-10 in the last three seasons but 0-3 against Creighton in that time. CU is the only team to take a 2-0 lead on the Jayhawks in those two years, and has done it in all three meetings ... Creighton has won 102 of its last 107 sets played inside D.J. Sokol Arena ... Ava Martin and Sydney Breissinger both surpassed 600 career digs in the match ... Creighton played seven Top 25 teams in its 12 non-conference matches this fall, the first time its ever played seven or more ranked teams prior to league play ... Creighton has now beaten a ranked Kansas team five times. The only ranked school it has beaten more is Marquette (9) ... Kendra Wait was recognized prior to the match as she was presented her AVCA First Team All-America ring ... Saige Damrow's streak of 11 straight matches with 10 or more digs was snapped as she played a full match as defensive specialist for the first time this season. Her streak had been the fourth-longest to start a Bluejay career in program history ... This is the ninth different time that Creighton has picked up multiple top 25 wins in the same season ... Creighton is now 27-33 against Top 25 teams when ranked itself.
Creighton Classic All-Tournament Team
Kali Jurgensmeier, Omaha
Faith Venable, Omaha
Maria Clara Andrade, South Florida
Samiha Foster, South Florida
Grace Nelson, Kansas
Reese Ptacek, Kansas
Jaya Johnson, Creighton
Ava Martin, Creighton (MVP)
Team Stats
KU
CU
Kills
31
44
Errors
19
18
Attempts
112
119
Hitting %
.107
.218
Points
42.5
59.0
Assists
30
43
Aces
4
6
Blocks
7.5
9
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
2
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
6
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
5
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballRS/MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballOH
/ VolleyballMB
/ Volleyball
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/ Volleyball
MB
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